scholarly journals The Word-of-Mouth Effects on the Chinese Customers’ Choice Intention of Medical Tourism Destination

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZHANGJUN ◽  
Hoon-Young Lee
Keyword(s):  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Tourism Destination

Antecedents of hospital brand image and the relationships with medical tourists’ behavioral intention

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 412-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tat Huei Cham ◽  
Yet Mee Lim ◽  
Nai Chiek Aik ◽  
Alexander Guan Meng Tay
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Behavioral Intention ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Brand Image ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Service Quality

Purpose Medical tourism is growing rapidly in the recent years in various Asian countries. The success of the hospitals engaged in medical tourism largely depends on their abilities in maintaining the repeating customers and to attract new customers. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of word-of-mouth and social media on hospital brand image. It also attempts to examine the relationships between brand image, perceived service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioral intention. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 386 medical tourists to test the proposed model. All the measurement scales adopted in this study were adapted from the existing literature. The data collected in this study were analyzed using both SPSS and structural equation modeling approach via AMOS. Findings The findings from the structural analysis indicated that both word-of-mouth and hospital-generated social media have a significant impact on brand image. Hospital brand image positively influences medical tourists’ perception of service quality, and their perceived service quality is significantly related to their satisfaction, which in turn, leads to their behavioral intention. Originality/value This study is one of the few studies that considers the importance of hospital’s brand image in influencing medical tourists’ perceptions on the quality of healthcare services that they experienced during their medical trips. This research study also raises the significance of word-of-mouth communication and social media that influence hospitals’ brand image, which has been neglected by many studies.

Using Internet

2017 ◽  
pp. 294-313
Author(s):  
S. Fatemeh Mostafavi Shirazi
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Tourism Destination ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Source Of Information

This chapter presents the subject area of the Internet as an international form of media and examines related issues. It begins by considering the Internet as a source of information in various forms of social network sites that enables any individual to post their experiences, opinions and evaluations of tourism destination. This provides a summary of the existing state of knowledge concerning to social network sites and word of mouth (WMO) recommendation. In addition, it serves to clarify the associated word of mouth and market share development.

Factors influencing the tourists’ intention to select sustainable tourism destination: a case study of Penang, Malaysia

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zurina Mohaidin ◽  
Koay Tze Wei ◽  
Mohsen Ali Murshid
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Destination Image ◽  
Tourism Destination ◽  
Environmental Attitude ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors of environmental attitude, motivation, destination image, word-of-mouth, and perceived service quality to predict the tourists’ intention to select sustainable tourist destination. It also aims to investigate the moderating effect of knowledge on the relationship between environmental attitude and the tourists’ intention to select sustainable tourist destination. Design/methodology/approach Using survey design, 300 self-administrated questionnaires (both online/hard copy) were distributed to both local and international tourists at different tourism locations in Penang state in Malaysia. A total of 161 questionnaires were returned and analysed by using SPSS and smart PLS software. Findings The findings found that environmental attitude, motivation, and word-of-mouth significantly influenced the tourists’ intention to select sustainable tourism destination, while destination image and perceived service quality have not a significant influence in this study. Furthermore, this study proved that knowledge negatively moderates the positive effect of the environmental attitude on tourists’ intention to select sustainable tourism destination. Research limitations/implications The findings offer important managerial implications for managers of tourism destinations and decision makers in understanding what motivates influence tourists’ intention in selecting sustainable tourism destination. The research scope was limited to convenient sampling and one city (Penang). Thus, the results could not be generalised to all Malaysia or other countries. Originality/value This research contributes to extending knowledge in sustainable tourism destination in the context of emerging markets, especially Malaysia. Moreover, this study found a way to examine the relationship between the environmental attitude and tourists’ intention to select sustainable tourism destination.

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